MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

It had been a few days since the event ended, and during this time frame, Alex contacted Yanric, the Beastmen running the ingredient business, and told him to arrange a meeting with his father.

Once the meeting was arranged, Alex quickly visited the Beast Continent, and at the moment, he was standing before the hulking figure of Clan leader Azgral in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by towering trees.

"Domain Ruler, it is my great pleasure to meet you," Azgral said, slightly bowing his head.

"Seeing that we are meeting in complete secrecy leads me to believe that you need more than just a minor favor, and it would be my honor to do my absolute best to be of help to you," Azgral said, easily understanding why Alex would go through the trouble of coming to the Beast continent and meet him in secrecy.

Azgral provided Alex with the dark bracelet, which served as a substitute for the Archaic Ring and enabled the functionality of the Ancient Gem, and he did so with the sole intention of allowing his clan to reap its benefits.

Azgral did not have the means to negotiate with Alex, and with their only link to him being the beast ingredient business on the Human continent, they have been pouring enormous resources into it over the last few months, making it one of the biggest businesses on the human continent, all in the hopes of staying in Alex's good books.

So now that Alex approached them from the front for a favor, Azgral was on cloud nine, quickly pledging his unconditional support right as the greeting ended, but whether he would like the offer or not was yet to be seen.

"Senior Azgral, How much do you know about the Demonic Cult," Alex asked, evoking an immediate shift in Azgral's demeanor to one of seriousness.

"The Demonic Cult has deep roots in all seven continents, with their main stronghold being The Human, Beast Continent, and their main goal is to be in control of influential positions," Azgral said, in all seriousness realizing that the favor Alex might ask for could range from minor to very significant.

"Please take a law oath to confirm that you are not involved with the Demonic Cult," Alex said, knowing that Azgral was compromised and that he was of no help to him.

Azgral raised an eyebrow in surprise, but he quickly took the law oath, confirming he had no involvement with the Cult, which made Alex breathe a sigh of relief.

The Human Emperor was going to stay down for another two to three months, and in that time frame, the demons could very well complete whatever preparation they needed to make to execute their plan, and as Alex could not use his resources as Ruler to find out about their plan, he had to use his own means.

Alex's relationship with the Taweret Clan was thanks to the Ancient Red Gem he acquired on his own, so he could use their help to go against the Cult and search for what the demons were planning.

Four months had passed, and the only notable activity the demonic cult members had done was securing the various places keeping the Chaos Spawns imprisoned.

But Alex had already discovered that killing all the Chaos Spawns was not going to achieve the apocalyptic result that Ahrimon promised.

The elders also confirmed that letting loose all the imprisoned Chaos Spawns would not result in the death of 80% of the population because their source of power, the Chaos hearts, was removed and destroyed or sealed away.

While the chaos hearts could be created, the amount of death and carnage needed to create just enough hearts to make the chaos generals reach half of their original strength would outnumber the entire population of the human continent.

It made them conclude that the Cult was just a facade to keep them busy because the cult's movement was not very secretive, and it even seemed like they were attracting attention.

But knowing how Ahrimon was capable of intensive planning and manipulation, it could very well be what he wanted them to believe and run around looking for something that did not exist.

Alex knew he was in a terrible predicament, and with Zero having the policy to never interfere in worldly matters, he was on his own to find the plan and stop the disaster.

"Senior Azgral, as you already know, the Human Emperor has mysteriously fallen ill, but his illness is no accident but a part of every major plan being orchestrated by the Demonic Cult."

"If the demons succeed, then the Human Continent will be plunged into chaos, and it will not be long before all the other continents get engulfed in the spreading chaos," Alex said and stopped seeing the sudden shift in Azgral demeanor like he knew something.

"I believe this incoming calamity is not related to the sudden movement of the Cult, with them securing the prison areas of the Choas Spawn Generals,"

"Because if it is, then that means the Guardian of Human Empire, Valdis Gavinzor, has betrayed his kind because only he and the Empeor have the keys to release the magic constraint keeping those calamities imprisoned,"

"But even if those creatures are released, they would not pose a real threat to the Human continent, let alone other continents," Azgral said, implying what they have concluded.

Alex was not surprised by the statement because if small-time assassin clans could find these details, it would be strange if someone as influential as Azgral did not know about such information.

"I know for certain that a disaster is approaching and demons are behind it, but I am not aware of their plan, and to figure it out, I need your help,"

"I want you to give me as many strong and loyal clan members as possible, who will be responsible for finding any clues to what the demons had planned, but mainly, their task will be finding the location of higher echelons of the cult," Alex said, and after a short pause, he continued.

"I understand that this could result in you becoming an enemy of the cult and even suffering great losses when the cult retaliates, yet I am not asking this for free,"

"For every death, your people will suffer, I will allow three of your clan members of the same strength to enter the Malefis Domain and stay there permanently,"

"I will also help your son and begin the bloodline refinement process on Yanric immediately, but If you want to decline, it is your choice, but then don't expect me to show favor to you ever," Alex said, not holding back with the threat simply since there was too much on the line.

If the deaths of a few could save the lives of billions, then Alex was willing to make that choice any day.

"My clan will support you in this noble cause," Azgral said with a bright smile as he extended his hand forth to complete the bargain.

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(Demon Continent)

In a luminous chamber filled with radiant shades of light, stretching endlessly for a few kilometers in all directions with no noticeable end, its towering ceiling reached hundreds of meters high and was upheld by broad pillars of pearlescent crystals and gems.

The floor was cloaked in mountain upon mountains of gold, silver, unique and high-quality minerals, weapons, and armor that were the sources of present light, with the pillars and ceiling additionally being adorned, if not completely made of precious metals and crystals.

There was so much wealth present that one will mistake it for being the treasury of an immensely powerful empire, yet amidst the grand treasure trove stood hundreds of thousands of figures belonging to various clans, few adorned in luxury clothing and others in complete rags.

The crowd of figures belonged to a plethora of races, with few resembling beautiful and elegant dark elves and other ugly and short goblins.

But there was one common thing among them that made what should have been a magnificent spectacle into a dreadful, heart-wrenching scene capable of shattering the minds of the weak-willed individuals.

The thousands of present figures all had their eyes filled with a crazed look of desire and happiness, their jaw wide open to such extent that their mouths were torn open, painting a bloody and gruesome smile on each of their faces.

Yet, it seemed none of them felt the pain and instead were enjoying their time, their figures frozen in place as if caught in a blissful dream.

Amidst the uncountable mountains of wealth and dreaded frozen figures lay a massive throne of gems, gold, crystals, and still the skulls and blooded organs of rare creatures.

Atop this twisted throne sat a monstrous creature, its grotesque appearance capable of striking fear in the hearts of still the bravest.

Its grotesque visage was adorned with two small horns protruding from its forehead, while a similarly twisted crown rested upon its head, with its massive gut seemingly on the verge of exploding, layers upon layers of fat shrouding its neck, face, and chest, and its presence exuding an aura of dread and malevolence.

"Mammon, your sacrifice will pave the way for our freedom, just like Lilith's did," A voice sounded, carrying a ravenous hunger, each word dripping with insatiable desire.